Anticipatory bail denied for serious economic offences involving fraudulent insurance verification while investigation remains pending.

The applicant sought anticipatory bail regarding Crime No. 294/2025 involving alleged fraud in the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana for the year 2024-25

The prosecution alleged that partners of Rallij Bio Energy Private Limited, in collusion with Agriculture Department officials, Patwaris, and insurance agents, registered over 50 hectares of land in Amgaon village

Although banana crops were cultivated on the land, the accused allegedly documented a chickpea crop to claim insurance for non-existent losses, resulting in a wrongful disbursement of over Rs. 25 lakhs

The applicant is specifically accused of illegally verifying documents to facilitate this fraudulent transfer

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on December 12, 2025, for offences under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS)

Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, which provides the discretionary power to grant bail to individuals apprehending arrest

Substantive charges were brought under Sections 316(5) [Criminal Breach of Trust], 318(4) [Cheating], 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2) [Forgery/Fraudulent documents], and 61(2) [Criminal Conspiracy] of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023

economic offences involving large-scale fraud against public schemes require a more stringent approach regarding bail, particularly during ongoing investigations

The Court weighed the applicant's arguments—that he was a reputed citizen with no flight risk and had been falsely implicated for a mere clerical role in verification—against the State's objection regarding the nature of the crime

The Court noted that the allegations involve "serious economic offences" through the fraudulent verification and illegal transfer of substantial insurance payouts into the accounts of co-accused persons

The Court reasoned that the deliberate misrepresentation of crop types (claiming chickpea instead of banana) to siphon funds from a government welfare scheme (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana) constitutes a grave matter

Given the seriousness of the allegations and the fact that the investigation is still active, the Court determined that custodial interrogation or at least the denial of pre-arrest bail was necessary to ensure a proper probe

The Court held that the gravity of the economic fraud and the ongoing status of the investigation outweighed the applicant's plea for protection from arrest

The applicant, Trilochan Prasad Sarthi, remains liable for arrest in connection with Crime No. 294/2025 at Police Station Chhuriya